Word: paul
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Part of the explanation, surely, was the fact that John Paul did not speak in tones of condemnation; nor did he threaten God's vengeance. Rather, he appealed to his audiences to be true to nobler qualities in themselves, telling them in effect you can do better than that, and you know...
...Pope appealed quite specifically, and effectively, to members of other faiths; at Battery Park on the lower tip of Manhattan, he addressed the nation's Jews, saying, "Shalom?peace be with you." Perhaps partly to aid this ecumenical appeal, he constantly emphasized a humble manner. The contrast with Paul VI, the only other Pope to visit the U.S. (for only 14 hours in 1965, primarily to make a U.N. address), was striking. Paul frequently used the papal "we." John Paul clearly preferred "I," and once made "we" sound not imperial but conspiratorial. When those cheering youths delayed his speech...
...this reflects conscious decision and a major development: John Paul, who is perfectly aware of his charisma, is quite deliberately converting the papacy into a personal office, seeking to lead not by the weight of his authority but by the force of personal example of humanity and faith. It is a strategy as radical in its way as some of the Pope's doctrinal views are conservative, but well adapted to John Paul's personality and the world's eagerness for leadership...
...John Paul certainly made a skillful and impressive try to solve that problem. Said the Rev. Avery Dulles, son of John Foster Dulles and a theologian at Catholic University: "There is no lack
...desire for spiritual leadership. But it must be exercised in a personal way. The Pope's personal style has a good chance of succeeding." The Rev. William Sloane Coffin Jr., pastor of Manhattan's Riverside Church and a leading liberal Protestant clergyman, was reminded by John Paul's performance of a definition laid down by Phillips Brooks, a spellbinding 19th century Episcopal bishop in Boston. "Preaching," said Brooks, "is bringing truth through personality." In the case of John Paul II, man and message have become one. Bishop Daniel Cronin River, Mass., said the Pope was trying to create a sense...